Frequently asked questions

How do I find my garbage day in Calgary?

Enter your address on the home page. You'll instantly see the next pickup date and frequency for your black, blue and green carts.

How often is each cart collected?

Blue (recycling) is weekly. Black (garbage) is every two weeks. Green (compost) is weekly from April to October and every two weeks from November to March.

What time should I put my carts out?

Place carts at the curb by 7 a.m. on your collection day, with at least 0.5 m of space between them and away from parked cars and fences. Collection runs from 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Do collection days change on holidays?

Usually not. Calgary collects carts on almost every statutory holiday — Family Day, Good Friday, Victoria Day, Canada Day, Labour Day, Thanksgiving and Remembrance Day are all normal collection days. The only dates that may change are Christmas Day and New Year's Day, which the City confirms each year. See our holiday schedule page for the full table.

My cart wasn't emptied — what do I do?

Leave it out until the end of the day (trucks run until 4:30 p.m.). If it still hasn't been collected and there's no tag on it, report a missed pickup to the City via the 311 online form, the 311 Calgary app, or by calling 311 — one request per cart.

Why is there a tag on my cart?

Crews tag carts they can't collect: wrong items inside, blocked access, extra bags without City garbage tags, or material jammed in too tightly. Fix the issue for your next pickup — the City asks that you not file a missed-pickup report for a tagged cart.

Can I put out extra garbage bags?

Only with a City of Calgary garbage tag attached to each extra bag. Untagged bags beside the black cart won't be collected. Tags are sold at participating retailers around Calgary.

What happens if I put the wrong thing in the blue cart?

Contaminated carts can be tagged and left unemptied, and bad loads can send a whole truck of recycling to landfill. When unsure, check our what-goes-where lookup — common offenders are styrofoam, chip bags, black plastic, coffee cups and greasy pizza boxes (pizza boxes go in the green cart).

Can meat, bones and pet waste really go in the green cart?

Yes. Calgary's composting facility handles meat, bones, dairy, pet waste and cat litter. Use paper or certified-compostable bags if you want to bag material — never regular plastic bags.

How do I get a new, extra or replacement cart?

Cart deliveries, repairs and size changes are handled by the City — request them through 311 (online, app or phone). Damaged carts are usually repaired or replaced at no charge.

I live in an apartment or condo — do these schedules apply to me?

City cart collection covers single-family homes and some townhouses. Most apartments and condos have private bin service arranged by the building, so the address lookup may not find a schedule for multi-family buildings.

Is the green cart still collected in winter?

Yes — year-round. It just drops to every two weeks from November to March, then returns to weekly from April to October. Food scraps still go in it all winter.

How do the email reminders work?

Pick your address, choose which carts you want reminders for, and confirm the sign-up email (double opt-in). We email you the evening before each collection. Every email has a one-click unsubscribe link, and reminders are completely free.

Where does the schedule data come from?

From the City of Calgary's Open Data portal (the official Waste and Recycling Collection Schedule dataset, covering 368,000+ addresses). We refresh it weekly, so route changes flow through automatically.

Is this the official City of Calgary website?

No. GarbageCalgary.ca is an independent service. Schedule data comes from the City of Calgary Open Data portal, but the City's own tools are the final authority.